 The Whistler. I'm the Whistler. And I know many things, for I walked by nights. I know many strange things. Hidden in the hearts of men and women were skipped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terror of which they dare not speak. Tonight, transcribed, it's the Whistler's strange story, Lady in Waiting. Her own feelings didn't match the day at all. It was spring in Pentecostal, and the city had a way of catching the spirit of such occasions. Even Eddie Street and the ravaged Gizmo office building she was entering seemed to brighten up somehow. She paused in her flight of stairs, her eyes examining the directorate. A few minutes later, a secretary ushered her into attorney John Bradley's office. Good on, Miss Cowan. Thank you. You seem nervous. Is there something... It's just that I'm not sure you can help him, Mr. Bradley, and no one else knows what I'm about to tell you. No one else will, whether I handle the case or not. Now, does that make it easier? Yes, much. Well, it's quite simple in a way. In fact, I mean, you see, I was keeping company with someone a number of months ago, a very fine man. At least, I thought he was. Go on. I, uh, wasn't in love with him. But he was kind, thoughtful, and, uh, very much in love with me. I only tell you that so you'll understand. I do understand. Anyway, you wanted me to marry him. He said we'd go away, travel around the world for a few years. He kept talking about that. I, uh, I'm afraid that waiting for me to give him an answer is what kept him here. Well, the case isn't too unusual yet, Miss Collins. I haven't told you his name. It was Frank Hardison. Hardison? Not the one who... Yes. Believe me, I didn't know any more about that part of his life than anyone else. You never told me. And to meet him, Mr. Bradley, you'd never guess. He was a perfect gentleman. I'd never met anyone. You got 20 years, didn't you? Yes. I remember reading about it. Quite a list of charges. You dealt his guilt. Is that it? Want me to...? No, Mr. Bradley, that isn't it. Then? Well, every month in the mailbox at my apartment, I find an envelope filled with, uh, a currency. Large bills. That's a problem. You don't understand. I know that somehow Frank's sending that money. I want it stopped. I haven't touched the scent of it. I don't want to. But, um, I thought if a lawyer talked to him, explained to Frank that he's really doing more harm than good. Easy. I have a very responsible position, Mr. Bradley. It's the people I work with ever since. Of course. Now, why don't you go home and forget it, Miss Collins? I'll handle it. I'll drive up and see. Harder than tomorrow. Thank you. Uh, when will I know? I'll be terribly anxious. Could you meet me here about, say, 4 o'clock? No, I'm sorry. See, I'm with an advertising agency, Mr. Bradley. And, uh, we have an important meeting with a client this afternoon. And why not meet me after hours at the old throttle bar? 6 o'clock. Oh, I... And I'll have all the answers for you. I hope so. It's easier now, isn't it? Now that your problem is being shared, and somehow you feel a sense of confidence in attorney John Bradley. Riding home in a cab, you'll hope that it will go as simply as Bradley seems to anticipate. In front of the wreck for Don, you're suddenly aware that the cab has stopped, that the doorman is smiling at you, waiting for you to step out. And you were with us? Miss Jean? What? Oh, I'm sorry, baby. Dreaming again. Here, I'll drive them. Uh... Finds free day like this, man. You should leave that there. The doors get outside. Go for a walk through Golden Gate Park. Nothing like being outdoors. Dan, you're wonderful. How are you feeling? I'm all right. You think you should work like this, Dan? It's outdoors, doctor says. That's where I gotta be. Oh, just worried about you. There should be more like you, Miss Jean. And, uh... The way you walked and acted the past few days, I guess you got things in your own mind. Dan, there should be more like you to notice. It's just a business worry, Dan. And I think it will all be cleared up. Tomorrow night. To Miss Collins. No more worries and an uninhibited future. Oh, Mr. Bradley, I'm so glad it went that way. Well, you're not drinking. Oh, I think you don't feel like it. I'm just happy that Frank didn't give you any trouble. But he understood. Oh, he did. Perfectly. And you're right. Partisan's a nice guy. But you still have a problem. Oh. Yourself. The way you've been brooding about all of it. Can I help you forget it some way? How? No. A good start might be a fake dinner as Julius is castled. You can look down at the city and tell it that Gene Collins isn't going to worry anymore about anything. I don't think you should. You can even pay for it, you like. I'll be your first charity. What do you mean? All that money that's accumulated. Henderson doesn't want it back. He hasn't made use for it. He should just forgive you to dust my fee and give the rest to your favorite charity. Oh. And my fee includes a fake dinner. Fair enough. Then I'll drive you straight home. Oh. Fair enough, Mr. Bradley. Right to the door. Mr. Bradley, you've been so wonderful. John. Oh, John. You've been very kind and I do appreciate it. Your favorite lawyer. Absolutely. Will I see you soon? Oh, well, I don't know. Gene. Yes. Get in trouble again right away, will you? I'll handle it. Oh, dear. Good night. I'll call you. Good night. Evening, Miss Gene. Hello, Dan. Well, the spring days kept alive into the night. You're happy, Miss Gene. Yes. Good night, Dan. Good night. Dan. There he is. Dan, you're not really very well, are you? Oh, no. Please, I want to know. If you had some money, try a bit of money. Is there any doctor that could help you? Miss Gene, there should be more. Ma'am, I'll not forget this. Tell me, Dan. I'll tell you this. A long time ago, I had all the care a man could have. It's no good. I'm just standing by the door now. Thank you, my turn. I'm sorry. Don't be. Forget it, Miss Gene. Really, I won't ever forget you. Good night, Dan. And right, Miss Gene. The spring day has kept alive into the night. You see a great deal of John Bradley in the days of follow-up, evenings of the theater, dining and dancing at the smart club. And you find yourself becoming extremely fond of him. And you look forward to each evening with increasing care. Then one evening you say good night to John in the lobby of your apartment building, and go upstairs. And if you're about to open your apartment door... Just a minute, Gene. I'm going in with you. Thank you. In time? No, partner, Gene. I don't like ways run in our business when I'm changing things a little. First, keep your checkbook. Write out the full amount of Frankie's donations. You can't ask me. No, I'm not asking. I'm telling you. I'm telling you something else. You'd better forget your boyfriend. Mr. Black, look. John, he's out caught off your books. You mustn't see him anymore. He might get hurt. Well, he's done nothing. Not yet. But I don't like you hanging around lawyers. You're frank, girls. But... You can write that check out now to your favorite cherries. Joey Stark. In just a minute, the whistler will continue to write stories. All of us are proud of our hometowns and likely so. In this brief moment before we continue with our program, we'd like to offer a salute to one of our hometowns in America, Des Moines, Iowa. Its history dates back over 100 years to the time when Fort Des Moines was established at the junction of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers to protect the rights of various Indian tribes in the prairie region. The city today, largest in the state and the state capital, is surrounded by rich coal fields which have contributed greatly to its industrial development. If you carry insurance on your homes, the chances are that your premiums wind up in Des Moines since over 150 insurance companies have offices in the city. And manufacturing is important here, too. Over a third of a billion dollars' worth of its products are sold throughout the world every year, such things as cosmetics, chemicals, medicines, wearing apparel, tools, machinery, food products, airplane parts and many others. It's a city of churches, over 200 of various denominations. A city of parks, over 1600 acres of natural beauty spots. A city of culture with many fine art institutions. The people of Des Moines are proud of their hometown and proud of the way Des Moines has taken its place in the building of America. And now, that too, the Whistler. It vanished in an instant, didn't it, the hope for a bright, clean future. Joey Stark, Frank Carterton's partner, won't believe that you don't know what was going on. Have no knowledge of the sort of deal that sent Frank to prison for 20 years. More than that, he insists that you stop seeing John Bratton. And for the next three days, you're afraid to even talk to him, even on the telephone. The terrible part is the realization that you love John, isn't it? That you don't want to give him up. An hour later, you'll find a note downstairs in the mailbox. Orders from Mr. Joey Stark to meet him tonight. You'll hurry downtown to your office. Hello, Jean. It's John. You shouldn't have come here. I'm saying right here until you talk to me, until you tell me what's wrong. Close the door. But it's nothing, John. Why have you refused to see me? Why aren't you in when I talk? I have the dormant at your apartment making excuses when I know he's lying. Jean, if it's something I've done... No, no, you haven't done anything. Someone called on me. A man. Thanks, pardon me. Oh? He won't believe that I don't know about Frank. It made Joey Stark. I think I need him tonight. No, you're not. I'll meet him. Talk to him like I did with Frank. No. I'll be careful. Tell me where you were supposed to meet him. There's a note. I have it in my purse. It's all there. A hotel on LSD. When you get through here, go home. Wait for me to call. Don't open the door or talk to anyone. You will be caught. I'll handle it. Just wait until I call. Yes? Jean? John? Are you all right? Nothing to worry about. You sorry? Jean, this call goes to a switchboard, doesn't it? Yes. They better not talk anymore. I'll combine the morning before you go to work. Can I mean time? Yes. No matter what you might hear. Remember, there's nothing to worry about. Nothing at all. Not now. Jean, I've been so anxious. Who are you? Lieutenant Williams, I'm a friend. This is Sergeant Knowles. May we come in, Miss Cullen? I'm a friend. I don't understand. There's some things we don't understand, Miss Cullen. Well, until we talk it over. Come in. Sit down. That won't be necessary. I'll come right to the point, Miss Cullen. Tell me, is there... Is this your check? Oh, yes. Yes, it is. Where did you get it? We found it on the body of a man, tentatively identified as Joey Stark. The body? That's right. He was found late last night, brought into the morgue. Took us a little while, looked you up, but naturally, we're interested in learning the connection between you and this man. Now, this check, it's for quite a sum. Cullen, I don't know anything about it. Of course, I wrote the check, but... But what? Did you go to this man's hotel at any time last night? No. Didn't leave your apartment here, I suppose. I didn't go there, I tell you. I was supposed to, but... Something happened to my mind. Mm-hmm. I know. Get that dorm and bring him up here. We'll see if he's got a memory. Now, Miss Cullen, why don't you tell me what this is all about? Blackmail setup? No, no. I'll tell you, I just... Well... Expecting something? No. We'll read it, I'll send her away. No, I wouldn't do that, Miss Cullen. We'll both see who it is. Quite consistent. Then I go ahead, open the door. You can drive me to the office another time. Well, Johnny Bradley. What can I wear you? What are you doing here? You lost little time in calling a lawyer, Miss Cullen. And a good one, too. We'll cover this boy. Oh, come in, come in. Seeing how long he's been here... Oh, I work fast, Bradley. You know that. You told me all I want to know. Namely, that this is her check. Check? What about it? John, Miss... They found it on... And Joey starts body. Say, you folks thought we were familiar about Joey. You know him, too, Bradley? Maybe. Why shouldn't he have Miss Cullen's checks? He gave it to him as a... ...favor for someone. Really? Who? What difference does it make? None. If she didn't leave this apartment last night. And we'll know that in a minute. No, uh... Bring him right in, though. Well, what is called a... ...a machine, isn't it? I'll ask the questions, if you don't mind, then. You see, we're trying to find out if Miss Cullen's went to a certain address last night. Now, it's, uh... It's to her advantage for you to tell the truth. Isn't it? Did you notice her leave the building around, uh... Nine o'clock, like she says? I'm asking him, Miss Cullen. Well, Dan? Did she? Miss Cullen... ...never left the building at all last night. I was very late. I had seen her. Mm-hmm. Well, Miss Cullen, if I don't doubt you and your, uh... ...witness, I think a jury might. What do you mean? Dan Rogers, here. Yeah, I have a very good memory. Now, let me see, uh... ...convicted of perjury in 1929, weren't you that? What? Mm-hmm. Perl for good behavior. Brought back on the same charge in 1932, served five years. Yes, a nice, reliable witness. All right. So, what are you going to do? Same thing you do in my position, Bradley. I'm arresting your client, Miss Cullen, for suspicion of murder. You've got your murderer, Williams. But it isn't Miss Cullen. I did it. What? You heard me. I did it. I killed him. Oh, if you don't believe me, pick up the cab driver who drove me over there last night. You mean, out of all the cabs in San Francisco, you would like to... This number is 4211. I made a note of it. Get him. You remember me. We had trouble finding the address. You know what this means, Bradley? Yeah. I know what it means. Don't be half-right. Use Yusofi. For example, do you know how much of our land has been permanently ruined by erosion because of improper farming? Would you say 25 million acres? No, that's only half-right. Brush up on your conservation. Tell your I&E officer you want to study with the United States Armed Forces Institute. Yusofi. It's easy. It's simple. If you don't want to be half-right, use Yusofi. And now, back to the whistlers. It happened, hasn't it, Dee? All that you feared from that very first day when you decided that someone might be able to help you in your problem with Frank Harden. It clear, isn't it? Don Bradley murdered stuff for you. Confessed to Lieutenant Williams to save you. And now a cab driver is about to prove John's story. Yep. I drove him to the hotel about 9 p.m. That's right. Oh, God. Why did you let him stay? Did you wait while he went up to Stark's room, Bradley? No. He went up, though. Saw him walk through the lobby and start up the stairs. Pick up another fare and drove off. Nice. Is that all, Lieutenant? Yeah, you can go. How about you, too, Dan? Hey. Wait a minute. What's the matter? My other fare. Who's this man? Dan. Sure, the old guy here. He come walking out of the hotel as Mr. Bradley went in. Pass them. Oh, that's it, Bradley. Stark was dead when you got there, wasn't he? You lied because you thought that Miss Collins had killed him. No. You killed him. Wow. Wait a minute, Gene. You shouldn't talk in front of a police. Dan, let me in. Don't worry about it, son. If they put me on trial, the jury better not stay out too long. Miss Gene, it wasn't just for you. It was for Frank, too. Frank? Frank Hardison put me on the door downstairs the day you moved in here. I left the envelopes and stopped leaving them. Whatever Frank said. You once said that someone else paid the medical attention for you. Won't you, Frank? Yes, Miss Gene. This Joey Stark was no friend of Frank. He was just a cheap hoodlum, blackmailing Miss Gene, but Dan, the killer man. Just to pay back her. It wasn't that, Mr. Bradley. The lieutenant here will be able to show you when he checks on all those aliases of mine. You'll find one of them was Hardison. Hardison? It's me. Frank Hardison is my boy. Miss Gene, he asked me to protect you. You were the one decent thing that ever happened to him. Now, a question. Do you know the story behind the phrase, I have not yet begun the fight? In 1778, John Paul Jones set sail for America in command of the old sea-battered ship Bonham-Richard. Off the English coast, he encountered the English 50-gun frigate Seraphus. In the furious battle which followed, half the crew of the Bonham-Richard were killed and most of the others threatened the mutiny. But despite the setbacks, when the English captain demanded his surrender, Jones answered, I have not yet begun the fight. A short time later, the English ship struck a flag and was boarded by the American crew as their own ship went down. This is by one of many interesting facts which can be found in the history of your United States Navy. Featured in tonight's transcribed story were Bill Foreman as the Whistler, John Stevenson, Vareen Puddle, Sir Butterfield, Jim Nutter, Bill Boucher and Jack Moyle. The Whistler, directed by Gordon T. Hughes with music by Wilbur Hatch, is written in for you by Joel Malone and transmitted overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service. The Whistler was entirely fictional and all characters portrayed on the Whistler are also fictional. Any similarities of names or resemblances to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This is George Walt speaking and reminding you to listen again next week for another strange tale by the Whistler.